I mostly just care about the food for Superbowl parties. If my team is playing, I'll of course pay more attention and get excited for touchdowns, but I usually prefer to be in the kitchen and bringing out the snacks. As soon as everyone sees me come out they look so excited to see me, but really they are just excited for what I'm bringing for them to eat. This time I made the Life-Affirming Nacho Dip from Oh She Glows, a dish that I constantly see on my friends' blogs getting rave reviews. It did not disappoint! I ate quite a lot of this, even using carrots to dip -- which is strange since it's made from a carrot base.



I also made the BBQ Chickpea Snack from The Abundance Diet. These were gone pretty quick, since I only made about 1 1/2 cups, or 1 can's worth of chickpeas. Can't exactly go wrong with something called BBQ Chickpea Snack.


I tried the Kite Hill Ravioli the other day. I got the spinach ricotta flavor. I swear there's only about 10 ravioli in each package, so basically one package feeds one person. I threw away the receipt, but I think I paid $8 each. They were good, but not mind-blowing. The price was too crazy to buy again. It made me want to make my own ravioli more often. I think I could make them just as good, and the labor of love makes them just a little more tasty. Nye mean?


The ravioli reminded me of when Alex and I first moved away, we used to eat frozen ravioli all the time. Such formative years! A few years later I was making my own tortellini by the hundred and selling vegan cupcakes to everyone I knew. It feels like a million years ago.


Last night it was windy and chilly and Pot Pie was speaking loudly to me. I made the Vegetable Pot Pie from Thug Kitchen 2, using their recipe for Coconut Oil Crust, leaving out the sugar, adding a little salt, and some dried basil. It's a whole wheat pastry flour crust with tons of coconut oil, so it was super flaky and delicious.


I loaded the filling with leftover veggies and even roasted some cauliflower and broccoli to sprinkle over the top. Roasted cauliflower is like butter. It's so amazing! So toasty and nutty, almost like nothing else, at least no other vegetable I can think of.




Dip Night!! Okay, my mom used to make what she called "dip night" for my brother and I when she didn't feel like cooking. She would make some frozen nuggets or something we never usually ate, leftover cucumber slices,and celery sticks and then pour different salad dressings into little silver "dip dishes" and we got to dip different veggies into different sauces and it was so fun! We begged for dip night all the time, which was a strange win for my mom, because it was virtually no work. Now I have translated much of this tradition barring the "no work" aspect. One night, the night of the big snow storm where we got 3 feet of snow(!), I got dip night in my head and I just couldn't let it go. So I went to the crazy mobbed store for vegetables and tofu, the only types of food left. I got home and made tons of dip! Left to right is the Roasted Red Pepper Dip, Creamy White Bean Pesto Dip, Roasted Garlic Dip, and Spinach Artichoke Dip, all from Thug Kitchen 2. I also made the Cornmeal Roasted Potatoes from the book, breaded tofu cubes, and had veggies and triscuits for dipping. Dip Feast!


The following night Alex was sick of dip, and demanded pizza. He is so spoiled! I made this pizza inspired by the In Ricotta Da Vegan pizza from Paulie Gee's that I love so very much. I used tofutti ricotta, which I immediately regretted, since making my own from cashews and tofu is soooo much tastier, and some spicy sausages from my freezer. Not the same as the restaurant, but still good.



A few days a week, Alex walks half way to work with me and we stop at Coffeed to sit and chat before I go off to work for the day and he stays there and works. I have been getting Matcha Soy Lattes a lot, and this time the barista made it pretty for me! It always makes it more fun to drink when it is pretty like that.


Another weeknight dinner was the Queso-ish-dillas from Thug Kitchen 2. The queso is made from butternut squash, and the filling is pinto beans, tomatoes and cabbage slaw. They really sing when you hit them with a big scoop of guac. Who wouldn't sing when hit with a big scoop of guac??



Since I am childless and in my late twenties, it's prime time to make #irresponsbilepurchases. Such purchases include 8 Sleater-Kinney albums with limited-edition presses with 7" singles and autographed posters and hard-cover alternate-artwork-deluxe-2-disk-white-180 gram vinyl .


I spent many snowy hours reading while spinning these new beloved purchases. My life is dope.


After having a bad experience at Roberta's this fall, I vowed not to return. I like Paulie Gee's just as much, and now I think even better, and they have so many vegan options there. Roberta's just got a little old to me, waiting 2 hours to get a tomato pie with mushrooms for $15, and don't forget the $9 beer, sometimes even in a can. And if you have bad service just once, it should probably be enough to keep you away forever. Alex, however, did not share the same opinion, and the pizza was calling his name one afternoon after the shop-up. We walked over, and the wait for 2 (at 3pm on a saturday) was already 60 minutes. We hung out and played Street Fighter while drinking delicious, albeit overpriced IPAs while we waited in the lovely snowy backyard. The pizza was very good, even though I think Alex ate most of mine. I am not really a pizza fiend, totally on #teampasta but I understand that Alex needs pizza to live, in the same way that I need pasta to live, so I understand.




 I made both Kebob recipes from Thug Kitchen 2 which were both involving grilled tempeh and veggies, but one had pineapple with sweet & sour sauce, and the other had chimichurri sauce. I made their Twiced Baked Spinach Potatoes to go alongside. Fun, but time-consuming if you're not using an outdoor grill. I'm living that #apartmentlife so I'll always be grilling on a mini grill pan with a standing fan blowing the smoke out the window. Classy.


I feel like this was the bro-iest meal I ever made. I feel like I will see this meal on all the weight-lifting people's instagrams later. I made it for the deliciousness, which was imminent. It was the Blackened Broiled Tofu from Appetite For Reduction and the Roasted Parmesan Asparagus from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen.  And a Fireside Chat to drink!


One night I was feeling like pasta, and nothing else would do. I made some angelhair with red sauce and the Italian Chopped Salad from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen which was very nostalgic of the kind of food we get to eat when we visit my father-in-law in Florida. I can't wait to go this year!

Anyway, this was delicious and the sauce was tofu-based rather than cashew based for a change, so I'm into that too. The shiitake bacon was a nice crunch, but really it just tasted burned to me. I still loved this, and it took 2 seconds to make. Plus look how pretty it looks :)


My fried Amey, from Vegan Eats and Treats, has blogged a few times about how much she loves this dish from Appetite For Reduction which is the Chipotle Chili with Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato. It sounds like an odd combo for chili, but it was so totally great and I'd definitely make it again. I had to make cornbread because, like how can you eat chili without it???


One night I made the Pomegranate BBQ Tofu from Vegan with a Vengeance 10th Anniversary and it was so great! I even poured some of the sauce over the baked potato I made. This tofu is baked first, then smothered in the sauce. I really love baked tofu. It sort of changes everything about tofu and makes it really succulent (?) and amazing. I feel like succulent is just a plant... Am I wrong about that?

This dish was the biggest winner for me. The Pesto Mac and Cheese from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen is just so great. The mac on it's own is a little bland, but when mixed with the pesto, it's like the most perfect combo you ever tasted. Also, I've learned that it's worth lugging out the food processor to make pesto instead of just using your vitamix which is already out on the counter. The food processor gets it the right texture and consistency. The vitamix just pulverizes it and makes like a pesto sauce, as smooth as your smoothie. But I love a good textured pesto with little bits of garlic and walnut in it. It's definitely worth the clean up, and trust me, I hate cleaning the food processor.


We went back to our hometown for a day to see David Bazan play a "living room show", something we've always wanted to see. This host had his own freestanding library/recording studio next to his house, so David just played there. Alex and I were trying to count the times we have seen him play, and it's probably something like 10 times. It was amazing and I'm so happy we got to see him in our hometown.


After the show we went out to dinner with my parents. Alex and I got the veggie burger, which has been good in the past, but really not so great anymore. It's dry and pretty flavorless, and I took a picture so you guys can see how to properly handle a sub-par veggie burger:

 That night we didn't feel like cooking, but we didn't feel like getting takeout, and we had some pesto on hand and some pasta to put it on. So yeah, we can't always be extravagant. Don't even pretend like you don't do this sometimes.


After a pasta-heavy week I decided to make some salads for the few days ahead. I made the Pomegranate Holiday Tabouli from Salad Samurai and the Brussels Sprout Salad with Grilled Miso Apples, also from Salad Samurai. The brussels sprouts salad was great, I never thought to use sprouts as a salad green, but they were great! The apples give it enough attitude to be a salad I'd make again. The pomegranate tabouli was just eh. It had lentils, and not enough dressing. I think it would benefit from avocado or baked tofu, and maybe then it could stand alone. If I'd only made the tabouli, I'd have been hangry by the time I finished.


Both salads had toasted walnuts in it, which definitely improved each salad. Toasted walnuts are special. They are softer, nuttier, toastier... Just better. Just nod so that I know you know.


I haven't made chana masala since probably 2011, when this dish debuted on Isa's blog. Lucky for everyone, it was published in Isa Does It, and now we can make it on the reg. The house smelled so spicy and nice for days after I made this. There's nothing like a spicy curry on a cold and rainy day.


Now, the main event, I decided to finally get a Vegan Cuts Beauty Box subscription! Two factors led to the inevitable decision to sign up for this box, besides me just wanting one: I started having problems with my skin, and I started realizing most of my bath/body/skin care products aren't even vegan. It's really shitty of me to have been vegan so long without paying attention to the products I buy for body/skin/beauty care, and I don't see (now) how it's any different from products I'd buy to eat. I'd hear about some product being vegan and just look for that kind but I always struggled to figure out on my own whether a product either has ingredients in it derived from animals, or has been tested on animals. I also have struggled to find vegan products that work (I'm talking to you, Tom's of Maine deodorant). Luckily, for me, I'm vegan in 2015 and the nice people of the vegan community and interwebs have already done the legwork of compiling a list of vegan companies who make and sell vegan beauty products. I am trying to replace all of my skin/beauty/body care items with vegan ones, but as you know, vegan products can be expensive. I found some affordable brands, and some not so affordable, but at least I know where to find them. The beauty box is great because it includes trial sizes of these products from companies you probably have never even heard of. This way you get to try out a product before committing to spending the $54 on it, or not. I am super psyched to try all these products and support vegan businesses trying to make a living the ethical way.


Each box contains between 4 and 7 items to sample and a handy card to tell what's what.

 My first item was this Indian Hemp & Haitian Vetiver Body Lotion by Nubian Heritage. It smells so good! I am always in need of lotion, so I am glad to find a good-smelling vegan one.


This is a calming botanical facial steam pack by Bohemian Beauty Co, which you pour into a bowl that you then cover with boiling water, and inhale the steam that comes off from the bowl, inhaling the scents and relaxing. It has a lot of common "zen flowers" in the packet, like chamomile and lavender. I'd never thought of using a product like this, but I will definitely give it a try.



Next is Moisturizing Hair Milk with Shea Butter by Shea Radiance. From reading the description of it, it seems to function like a detangler. No woman with long hair could say that they'd not benefit from some detangling spray, though I don't like to generalize. I'll just say that I will totally use up this product and put it to the test with my tangles. Especially in scarf season.


I never really thought of nail polish as being vegan or not. Well, it turns out I have about 25 bottles of non-vegan nail polish and if you want to take some of it off my hands I have the colors of the rainbow and beyond. I have one vegan color now! This is "Galaxy" by Mineral Fusion. It's hard to tell from this picture I guess, but it's a sparkly dark blue. I will put it on my toes in the near future.

Last but not least is Black Tea Liquid Eyeliner from 100% Pure. This is a full-sized product that would otherwise be very expensive to just "test out" seeing that it costs more than the entirety of this month's box. I tried to use it this morning, but realized that liquid eyeliner requires a steady hand, and it got kind of all over my lashes and so I just used my trusty crayon liner because I know how to do that. I will practice and learn the art of the liquid-liner. Swear.
Today my parents and in-laws came for the day and came to the shop-up with us and it was great! My parents especially liked Monks Meats sliders, the winner of the spread we put before them. I ate about 5 macarons so far, and I accidentally ended up with 12 more, so yeah. Not a bad Saturday.

The shop-up was Saturday, and we made a plan to day drink. I got a Barrier Kapow and a Singlecut Full-Stack. I certainly didn't need more than that ;).


I mostly just spent the time sitting at the bar gabbing with Abby Bean and eating these broccoli cheese empanadas from Freakin' Vegans. It was great! A Yeah Dawg made an apperance as well as several macarons from Sweet Maresa (who else??) and a mini pecan pie square from Gone Pie. It was a seriously decent Saturday.

Here's me and Abby's dog 89 not looking at the camera. I always like the idea of spending some time at the bar with some good food and good people, watching whatever throwback 80s move is playing at Pine Box, and if I can pet a cute doggy too, the day is all the better for it.


We went grocery shopping after a long beer nap following the shop-up. Alex was amused by the small size and description of these apples. They were labeled "Lady Apples", you know, because ladies are small and tiny like this apple. WHATEVER KEY FOODS.


This is Tempeh Piccata which came from no recipe, but rather from my brain. I think I've watched Giada de Laurentiis make Chicken Piccata enough times in my life to know how to make Piccata anytime I want. I chose tempeh, which I browned before removing from the pan. Then I made a sauce with onion, garlic, lemon, capers and white wine, and cooked some broccoli florets in that broth while it simmered. I also roasted some cauliflower florets, because I just wanted to. We served it over angel hair, and that's it.


We couldn't decide where to go for lunch on Sunday, so we went to Smorgasburg in the new Prospect Park spot. The vegan options looked slightly slimmer than Smorgasburgs past, so I grabbed this BBQ Jackfruit sandwich with cole slaw from Chickpea & Olive. After I got it, I noticed a few more tents with vegan options, Monks Meats was there, and The Regal Vegan was making sandwiches too. They always have the Alchemy Creamery selling vegan Ice cream pops and stuff at the Smorgasburgs but I didn't grab one that day.


Alex got his beloved Calexico Beet Burger from Chickpea & Olive. They make a good burger. Beets, that is. I am a beet burger fan. Chickpea & Olive have some good bread. It's a very important part of the burger experience. If you get a so-so bun, you'll probably have a so-so burger experience.


We landed on pizza for dinner. We decided we love Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen and wanted to make something from it. We went with the Crumbled Sausage & Mozzarella Pizza. The sausage is made of pureed mushrooms and walnuts, that you just cook in a sauté pan until it gets dried out enough to make crumbles out of. It was a very strange method but the end result was super tasty.
The Mozzerella was a garlic cashew cream sauce that you just pour over your pizza after it's baked, and bake it some more for about 5 minutes.


I loved this pizza! I want to make more pizzas from the book for sure.


It looks even better on Instagram <3

The next thing on our list from project cookbook was the Homestyle Pot Pie from The Great Vegan Protein Cookbook. I really love pot pie, and this recipe was calling out to me. The picture in the book was just so pretty, so I knew I needed to make it soon. Maybe I'll start reviewing these cookbooks on here once I've made a lot more stuff from them. Would that be interesting?


I am normally a fan of crust on the bottom (as well as on the top) and most of the recipes for pot pie forego the bottom crust. This recipe gives you the option to do either one, but since I was making a bunch of stuff already and this was a weeknight, I thought maybe I'd just buy a pie crust and spread the cut-outs on top of the pie. Wrong! No vegan pie crusts were available at the store. There were some piecrusts that were already pressed into pans, but I didn't want that, and I didn't even check if they were vegan. I did see some gluten-free pie crusts too, but of course, they weren't vegan. No respect. I ended up making my own crust when I got home, which actually was pretty easy. I chilled it while I made a dessert, and chopped the vegetables and made the stew-part of the pie, then just rolled it out and cut-out shaped to lay on top. I think my crust wasn't big enough, since there were some gaps in between my shapes. It was tasty nonetheless.


More from our cookbook project soon :)